Saturday, June 16, 2007

Bush FWS adds nail to San Pedro River's coffin

The San Pedro is drying up due to political corruption and defense greed

SIERRA VISTA AZ -- The Bush/Cheney controlled US Fish and Wildlife (dis)Service (FWS) says Ft. Huachuca can add 3000 new people without harming the San Pedro River Riparian National Conservation Area, or endangered species that depend on the river for survival.

What a crock of BS!

The Army has cut water use on post, which is a good thing. But it doesn't matter that much.

The obvious big problem, but one the Bush/Cheney administration won't look at, is most of the people that work on post live and use water outside its gates in Sierra Vista and elsewhere near the river. At home they use way too much water, which is drying up the last free-flowing river in the southwest.

Also, adding more Army staff will bring in more defense corporation workers to grab federal defense money flowing nearby. Those Ft. Huachuca related workers will also live off post and suck water from the San Pedro. Developers will continue to pave Cochise County and pump groundwater for more Ft. Huachuca-related suburban sprawl.

The incompetent 'head in the sand' Bush administration refuses to consider the real world harm of Ft. Huachuca expansion reality. They point to a 2004 rider by corrupt US Rep. Renzi (R-AZ) that says don't look at the big picture on water use. Remember, Renzi pushed this scam rider to help his business partner make millions on a piece of land near Sierra Vista. Renzi's rider must be repealed.

The Ft. Huachuca/San Pedro River situation stinks terribly of political corruption, war money and sprawl development. The new Fort expansion permit is an immoral low point for FWS, which also is responsible for ending protections for the nearly extinct Cactus Pygmy Owl in Arizona.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who represents the area and campaigned on saving the San Pedro, should try to step in to require FWS to fully consider and mitigate all Ft. Huachuca related environmental harms. The mostly ineffective and weak Upper San Pedro Partnership isn't doing it.

It's a dangerous myth that we can have continued expansion of Ft. Huachuca and Sierra Vista and also save the San Pedro.